Chapter 4 MISTER ROBERT ROBIN HAS AN ADVENTURE WITH THE FARMER'S MALTESE CAT

It was a beautiful morning. The sun had just lifted his bright face above the eastern hills; the dew was still glistening on the leaves, and Mister Robert Robin was perched in the very top of his big basswood tree singing his "Sun-up" song.

He looked very handsome in his dark brown topcoat and his red vest, as he finished singing his "Sun-up" song and looked around to see what he could see.

From the meadow came the sound of Bob-o-link's "Spingle! Spangle!" song, and David Songsparrow was singing his seven morning songs, and even Jeremiah Yellowbird was doing his best to make his little voice ring through the woods as Robert Robin's mellow notes had sounded a moment before.

But Robert Robin was not listening to the other birds, he was looking to see what he could see.

The fields were green, for rain had fallen the day before, and the tangle of wild-rose bushes along the fence had burst into bloom. From the high place where he sat, Robert Robin could see the pink blossoms, and when the wind blew from their direction, he could smell the perfume of the flowers.

The farmer's sheep were in their pasture, and the little lambs were frisking and playing with each other. A pile of lumber lay near the pasture gate, and the little lambs were running and jumping off the lumber pile. They were having great fun, and Robert Robin felt like laughing as he watched them.

Suddenly Robert Robin sat up very straight and jerked his tail up and down three times and said, "Tut! Tut! Tut!" He saw the farmer's Maltese cat walking along on the rail fence, and the cat was coming towards the woods.

"I am afraid that big cat is coming over here!" said Robert Robin to himself. Mrs. Robin heard Robert Robin saying, "Tut! Tut! Tut!" so she came to see what was the matter.

"There is a big Maltese cat coming towards our tree!" said Robert Robin.

"Where is it?" asked Mrs. Robin, who was very much excited.

"On the rail fence!" said Robert Robin. "It is the same cat that I saw in the farmer's garden!"

"That terrible cat will eat our baby robins!" said Mrs. Robin. "You must fly right at him and scare him away!"

"Perhaps it would be better to wait and see if something doesn't happen!" said Robert Robin.

The big cat did not seem to be in any hurry. He walked slowly along the rail fence until he came to the brook. There were no rails across the brook, only a panel of wire fencing-so the big cat sprang to the ground and walked along the brook until he came to a place where the brook was narrow, then the farmer's Maltese cat crouched and sprang across the brook at one leap.

"He is surely coming to our woods!" said Mrs. Robin, and Robert Robin was so frightened that all he could say was "Tut! Tut! Tut!"

The great cat tiptoed across the corner of the pasture, and crept under the fence. He was now in the meadow next to the woods, and was walking slowly towards Mister Robert Robin's tree. Every few moments he would stand still and look all around. Once he sat down for several minutes, and Robert Robin was hoping that he would not come any nearer the woods. Mrs. Bee was buzzing around the basswood blossoms, and Robert Robin said:

"Mrs. Bee, you are a very good friend of mine! Please fly down there and sting that big cat for me! It will only take you a moment and it will be a great favor!" But Mrs. Bee was busy filling her bag with honey, and had no time to bother, stinging cats.

Mister Jim Crow came flying past and Robert Robin called to him: "Oh! Mister Crow! Fly right straight at that cat and scare him out of his wits!"

"Oh! Let him alone!" said Jim Crow, "he is only catching meadow mice!"

And Jim Crow flew over into the other woods.

Then nearer and nearer the big cat crept towards Robert Robin's tree. Mister Kingbird came fluttering his wings and screaming, "King! King! King!" but though he feared no hawk nor owl he was afraid of the big cat and would not go anywhere near him.

The farmer's big Maltese cat was standing almost under Robert Robin's tree. He was swinging his long tail from side to side, and looking at Robert Robin with his green eyes. The big cat was thinking to himself, "I would like to have that robin for my breakfast!"

But Robert Robin had no fear of the cat catching him; he was afraid that the animal might climb his big basswood tree and eat his baby robins.

"I will climb that big basswood tree and catch Mister Robin!" said the big cat to himself. Then he crawled under the fence and started climbing up the big tree. The big basswood was very tall and straight, and as the farmer's cat climbed higher and higher he saw Mister and Mrs. Robert Robin sitting in a maple tree screaming at him with all their might.

"What is the use of my climbing this tall tree when the birds are in the top of the other one?" the cat asked himself. "I think that I will slide down!"

The big cat slid down the big basswood tree and when he came to the ground, he saw Mister Gabriel Chipmunk sitting on top of his old home stump shouting "Chip! Chip!" as loudly as he could scream.

"Ho! Ho!" said the Maltese cat, "there is a striped squirrel for my breakfast!" and the big cat tiptoed towards Mister Gabriel Chipmunk. But Mister Chipmunk was watching the big cat all the while, and he was all ready to jump into his hole.

Somewhere in the woods a twig snapped, and Robert Robin looked and saw an animal coming through the woods. It was a big bulldog, and he was out for a walk.

The big bulldog did not like cats, and if there was any one thing which he liked to do, it was to chase cats. He did like to see them run.

When he saw the farmer's big Maltese cat, he said "Woof!" and the big cat forgot all about Mister Chipmunk, and forgot all about Robert Robin, and ran for the fence.

"Woof! Woof!" roared the bulldog. "Pstt! Pstt!" said the cat, and the cat jumped through the fence, and the dog jumped through the fence, and the cat jumped back through the fence, and the dog jumped back through the fence, and then the cat ran up an elm tree which stood outside the woods, and the big bulldog put both of his front paws against the tree, and said "Woof! Woof! Woof!" Then the dog sat down and barked at the cat, and the cat laid his ears back close to his head and growled at the dog.

The big bulldog laughed and showed all his teeth and said, "Come down and take a walk, Kitty! Come down and take a walk, Kitty!" Then the dog sat down and waited three hours for the cat to come down.

The farmer's Maltese cat did not like to stay in the elm tree. The sun was hot and some little flies kept trying to get into his ears, but the dog was sitting in the shade, and he was thinking to himself, "That cat will come down soon, and then I will give him another race! I do enjoy seeing those fraidy cats run!"

Robert Robin did not like to have the farmer's cat anywhere around, and he kept saying "Tut! Tut! Tut!" but Mrs. Robin went and got the baby robins their breakfasts.

The sun kept getting hotter and hotter, and the farmer's big cat kept getting warmer and warmer. "I shall roast in this tree!" he said to himself. "This is the last time that I will ever come into these woods! I had no idea that a big bulldog lived here!"

After a long time the big bulldog happened to remember a bone which he had buried in the garden, and the more he thought about the bone, the hungrier he became, so at last he looked up at the farmer's Maltese cat and said:

"Woof! The next time I see you, Kitty! The next time I see you, Kitty!"

And the farmer's Maltese cat growled at the big bulldog and said, "If my dog was here he would eat you up!"

Then Mister Bulldog laughed and showed all his teeth and said, "The next time I see you, Kitty!" And then he went back to the place where he was visiting and dug up the bone, and it was even better than he had expected.

When the dog had gone, the farmer's Maltese cat slid down the elm tree and ran all the way home, and found that the farmer's long-eared hound dog had eaten all the breakfast which the farmer's wife had put in the cat dish.

And Mister Robert Robin said to Mrs. Robin: "I hope that nice bulldog stays all summer!"

And every time the farmer's big Maltese cat looked at the woods he said to himself, "That is the place where that bulldog lives!"

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